47 Ronin

Kai—an outcast—joins Oishi, the leader of 47 outcast samurai. Together they seek vengeance upon the treacherous overlord who killed their master and banished their kind. To restore honour to their homeland, the warriors embark upon a quest that challenges them with a series of trials that would destroy ordinary warriors.

One of the more thorough critical drubbings of its year, the film was faulted for wasting a promising setting and an international cast on a lifeless, hollow adventure. The gap between audience scores and critical reception is notable, suggesting viewers willing to meet the film on its own fantasy-spectacle terms found more to enjoy than reviewers did — though even the box-office numbers told a grim story.